Prog/Fusion/And the AudioPhile..Just wondering?

[LASERCD]

Bob:

This is where the forum is supposed to have a "like" button. You are well equipped!

I used to have Apogee Calipers. Back when I was living in a small apartment in Hoboken. My wife hated them. They were like room dividers. I tried powering them with 2 Counterspoint SA-12 amps. Wasn't a good match. In fact I arc'ed one of them. I'll never forget the blue flame that shot out of one of the ribbons. I think it was a Pat Metheny album that did it in.

When powered correctly (and they needed tons of it) Apogee would do things that no other speaker could match. I have a friend down in Florida with a pair of Diva. Now that was an impressive speaker.

My friend had the Transfiguration Temper W for many years and just upgraded to the Phoenix. He loves it. I used to own the Moerch DP6 arm. Had it on a Teres 265 turntable. Fantastic tonearm.
Ken

[wideopenears]

What are the opinions amongst those of you here about PSB speakers?

[LASERCD]

Decent budget speakers.

[wideopenears]

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMG

I'd like two of those.....

[Shadow]

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMG

I'd like two of those.....

A friend of mine got a pair of magnepans last year and Audio Research tube amp,tube pre-amp and tube cd player. Was over there Wednesday for steaks and listening to music and checking out Blue Rays of the McLaughlin/Santana and Portnoy,Sherinian,Sheehan and MacAlpine dvds. They looked incredible on a 70" screen.

[pbd999]

What are the opinions amongst those of you here about PSB speakers?

I have read quite a bit about these over the past year and they seem to have a very good reputation. I plan to spend around $1200 or $1300 on a pair of speakers next year and the PSB Image T6's are what I currently have my eye on.

[BobM]

There are so many different speakers out there. Please do';t buy a pair just based on specs or reputation. Go hear them before you commit and test out several different pairs at your price point. Your ears should be the final judge.

That being said, PSB's have a good reputation and shoot above their price point. There are also lots of speakers available on the used market, where you can generally buy something that would cost 2x as much new. The problem there though is hearing them before you purchase.

Good luck and enjoy the search.

[Mikhael]

Mackie HR-824 powered studio monitors. The low end lies to me, so I can't use them in the studio, but stuff sounds good played through them.

[wideopenears]

A friend has a bunch of PSB's.....two columns in the living room, and a home theater set-up in the family room.
The living room columns sound great to me. Can't recall what his DAC and other components are, but I'll check and let you all know.....

[strawberrybrick]

I have the PSB Synchrony One series, which is their top of the line (high end budget?!) and I can say this. It is now very easy for most anyone who listens to discern the quality of recording, sources, etc. In other words, good recordings sound fantastic and not so good recordings sound, well, not so good.

[MJBrady]

Ken and Bob M, you both are very fortunate to be able to surround yourselves with such an array of great stuff, I knew a thread like this would reveal some incredible systems, and offer new ideas for those of us with the sickness.

I will have to stay old school for now, and I am quite pleased with my new configuration, yet my eyes are wandering for a new amp set up, Krell, Rotel and Mark Levinson are on the radar.

[BobM]

If you are into the "hobby", either for the enjoyment of music or for the enjoyment of the equipment or both, then I suggest lurking at one of the audio related forums. Here's a list of some you might want to check out:

www.audionervosa.com
www.audiocircle.com
www.audiogon.com
www.audioasylum.com

There are also many communities of like minded people that get together on occasion. Those are great opportunities to meet and listen to others systems and get a feeling for what you may like, and dislike, in terms of equipment.

Most of all, enjoy the process.

[dregsfan]

My system:

Meridian 508.24 cd player
Audio Research Ref II Mk. 2 pre amp
Classe CAM 350 monoblocks
Revel Studio speakers
Magnum Dynalab 102 tuner
Melos SHA-1 headphone amp
Grado SR-1 cans
Synergistic Research and other various cables

[aplodon]

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMG

I'd like two of those.....

I have Magneplanar 1.6.
I think they sound great! It was a revelation changing from traditional speakers to these.
(The photo is not from my place, just found it on the internet.)

[Jerjo]

Question about the Magneplanar. I've always heard from others that ribbon speakers were always weak on the bottom end. Is that still true?

Love that rig above. McIntosh always looks so freaking cool.

[rcarlberg]

I've always heard from others that ribbon speakers were always weak on the bottom end. Is that still true?

Ribbons are limited in their throw, so that limits the amount of air they can move. Most highend ribbon systems are mated with a sub.

Remember the old Heil driver?

[LASERCD]

Question about the Magneplanar. I've always heard from others that ribbon speakers were always weak on the bottom end. Is that still true?

Love that rig above. McIntosh always looks so freaking cool.

Generally speaking its true. You tend to see Maggies and other ribbon speakers mated with a cone subwoofer which creates many issues of cohesive, linear integration. Having said that, I've heard the big Maggies - the 20.7 and they do have fairly substantial bass. Pretty satisfying in fact.

[simon moon]

Question about the Magneplanar. I've always heard from others that ribbon speakers were always weak on the bottom end. Is that still true?

Love that rig above. McIntosh always looks so freaking cool.

First of all, other than the tweeter, which is a true ribbon, the Maggies use a quasi-ribbon. They are sort of a cross between their old planar magnetic element and a true ribbon.

This quasi-ribbon gives them more excursion than a true ribbon has, thus giving them more bottom end.

The old Apogee speakers were true full range ribbons, and they did lack bottom end. The Maggies may not have that 'kick you in the chest' bass that some cone speakers have, but what the do have is very accurate.

I will add, that most Maggie owners do not tend to use them with a sub (unless it is the Maggie sub, the DWM) since it is tough to match the speed and transient response of the Maggies with a cone sub.

[E()]

My system:

VPI Aries 2 and SDS
Ear 834 Phonostage
Esoteric DX5
Oppo 105
Audio Research Ref 3 preamp
Audio Research Ref 210 monoblocks
Mac Mini
Weiss DAC 202
Cavalli Liquid Glass headphone amp
Wilson Sophia 2's
Sennheiser HD800
Shunyata Hydra
Shunyata and MIT cables

[BobM]

Yeah, the only true full ribbon speakers that I know of was Apogees, in several different models. But I can assure you that my Duetta Sig's do not lack bass in the least. However, that being said, and including the fact that original Apogees are about 20 years old or more, many owners do cut off the bass above 50Hz to help preserve those delicate ribbons. So perhaps that is what you heard and thought was lack of bass.

Planer bass is certainly very different than cone or horn bass. Tighter and tuneful, but it doen't usually have the impact of a large cone speaker pumping out air and hitting you in the chest.

[rcarlberg]

Planer bass is certainly very different than cone or horn bass. Tighter and tuneful, but it doen't usually have the impact of a large cone speaker pumping out air and hitting you in the chest.

Too bad nobody markets an air cannon for this -- and no, I'm not kidding.

[rcarlberg]

First of all, other than the tweeter, which is a true ribbon, the Maggies use a quasi-ribbon. They are sort of a cross between their old planar magnetic element and a true ribbon.

Magnepan's speaker design, sold under the brand name Magneplanar, differs from that of conventional speakers in relying not on cones mounted in an enclosure but on a planar driver system mounted in a panel. A Magneplanar's reproducing mechanism comprises thin conductive wires and or foil strips attached to a thin sheet of Mylar residing in a magnetic field created by a vertical array of permanent strip magnets. When an amplified signal is applied to the conductors, the resultant electrical forces react with the magnetic field to excite the Mylar film sheet, which projects sound as a dipole. In principle, this approach relies on the same concept as a voice coil-driven cone speaker, but in a Magneplanar speaker the "voice coils" are attached (glued) directly to the radiating surface.

Question: even with "the voice coil attached directly to the radiating surface", isn't the throw limited by the depth of the "magnetic field created by a vertical array of permanent strip magnets"?

[BobM]

Yes, but the amount of surface area covered by a 2 foot wide and 5 foot high panel is many times bigger than a 12 - 15 - 18 inch woofer. It can more easily create a large waveform needed for bass. It's just that the panel doesn't "push" the air as forcefully as a pistonic cone so it doesn't usually give you that thump in the chest. It can however be quite a bit "faster" and therefore mure tuneful, accurate and harmonically rich.

[rcarlberg]

Cool. I'll have to audition some of the newer Magnapans someday.

[trurl]

Too bad nobody markets an air cannon for this -- and no, I'm not kidding.

maybe not, but you can get bass shaKers and attach them to your seat! I like the air cannon idea. Just adding a good ported bass cabinet will do it though. Aim that port right at yer chest